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Nine Amazing Ways Meal Prep for Beginners can Change Your Life

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Meal Prep for Beginners

Whether you are a work at home mom, a single parent or a student, meal prep is a concept everyone should try at least once. If you ask me for the most important reason, I would say that the effects on your savings will be great in the long run.

I have heard many people say that it’s too hard to meal prep or it might not be an effective solution for their family. But I’m here to tell you meal prep does not have to be difficult.

In fact, there are so many ways meal prep can change your life that I implore you to try it if you haven’t done so.

The meal prep process does not need to be overwhelming if you take the right approach and keep things simple.

You can do as much or as little of it as you want. It’s about choosing a method that’s suited to your needs. For example, you can meal prep for one week’s worth of dinners or you can do just breakfast for a few days.

And if you become pro at meal prepping, you can plan and prep for various meals to last you a whole month! It can be done. You can even make takeaway style meals which are good for your waist and pocket!

So today, I’m going to show you the benefits of meal prepping and how it can seriously improve your lifestyle for the better.

If you want to reduce overwhelm and stress (who doesn’t?) while eating healthy and saving money, meal prepping is really for you.

Save more money

Yes, meal prepping is one of the best ways to support frugality if you are looking to save money. Here is how meal prepping will save you money.

Firstly, meal prep requires planning ahead of time for your meals. You will make a plan, write the list of ingredients you need for those meals, and then shop for it all together.

Once you have set up a system that works for you, it should help cut back on how frequently you grocery shop. I’m a firm believer in grocery shopping less frequently to save money.

The more visits to the supermarket, the more unnecessary food items, and snacks will be purchased leading to overspending (and even waste).

Having your meals organized ahead of time will also mean less temptation to eat takeout. It’s no secret, the less takeout you buy, the more money you will save.

Eat clean and healthy

In the same way, this concept of planning and preparing homemade food presents itself as an opportunity to use fresh, healthy food. Of course, eating healthier through meal prep will still be dependent on the types of food you decide to prepare.

But you will want to take advantage of this opportunity to make it worth your time (and to benefit your health). Meal prep with the aim to eat healthier and you will feel great.

It’s a good way to get into including lean proteins such as grilled chicken and pairing those with roasted veggies and various pulses.

Another great thing about this concept is that it forces you to dish out healthy serving size portions into those awesome meal prep containers. This will hopefully translate to consuming food in healthy portions.

Food variety

Okay, I’ve heard a few people say that meal prep means having to eat repetitive meals. But I beg to differ. It’s really what you make it. And frankly, this is quite the opposite of true for me.

In fact, I have started eating a wide range of healthy food just because I intentionally plan to do so. With a little creativity and proper planning, you can create enjoyable, nourishing meals with plenty of variety.

When meal planning, consider the types of protein, carbs and healthy fats you will include, then prepare or pre-cook 2 or 3 different dishes. You will then be able to alternate between those meals.

Save more time

This is a big one for me and it’s the main reason I started meal prepping. I would rather spend less time in the kitchen, and more time doing something else with my time.

That may or may not be true for you depending on how much you enjoy cooking and how much time you have in your hands.

But if you’re looking to cut back on the number of trips to the supermarket, or even on cooking daily or a few times a week, meal prepping is going to benefit you. You will be able to spend more time on hobbies that you enjoy.

Flexibility

Meal prepping is a great way to have flexibility. Depending on preference, it can be done for any meal of the day and/or snacks. You can meal prep for a whole family or just for you.

Because you’re planning ahead of time, you can plan your meals to cater for your children and everyone in the family. There will be no last-minute fuss about what everyone is going to have for dinner or lunch.

Convenience

Apart from grabbing takeout, there is no better option than meal prep when it comes to convenience at meal times. It’s easy once you get used to it and have a system. You can keep it super simple.

There are so many recipes you can use that are specifically for meal prep. Pinterest is full of these recipes. Most of these meals can also be done in a slow cooker or instant pot, which makes it even easier.

Cuts back on decision fatigue

Yes, decision fatigue is a thing. Let’s face it, we have all been there. Last minute cooking is just not fun. It’s that moment when you need to think up of what to cook and how long it will take you to do it.

It’s having too many choices to make through the day, one of them being how to eat healthier, better, or what to cook. I don’t know about you but I love being able to cut back on the last-minute rush.

Simplify and succeed

And finally, I find preparation helps me do better in other aspects of life. It might seem far-fetched, but meal prepping to eat a variety of healthy foods and portions, you feel better for it.

You also simplify your life and do more of what you enjoy. You will hopefully also have more time to focus on other goals you want to achieve.

So there you have it. That’s my take on how meal prep can change your life and improve your lifestyle. If you’re a beginner and want to meal prep, I would love to share the following practical tips to get started.

Practical tips for meal prep:

Never freeze a large amount of cooked food in one big container. You will want to store appropriately sized portions in separate containers for easy defrosting.

Avoid buying ingredients you don’t frequently use just for the sake of one recipe. Usually, omitting one or two items (like spices) won’t make a huge difference to the meal.

You can opt for frozen vegetables and fruit to save time on preparation.

Try to choose one day of each week, fortnight or month to meal plan and prep, depending on how often you want to meal prep.

And that’s a wrap. If you would like to read more about how I meal prep and the exact steps, check out this post. Happy meal prepping.

This lovely guest post was contributed by Fana of Happy Nifty Life. Fana is the founder of Happy Nifty Life, a lifestyle blog dedicated to exploring simple life hacks and ideas to create a happy life. She is passionate about discovering savvy ways to save time, manage finances, organize the home and simplify life.

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Comments

I just love the fact how you listed so wonderfully all the advantages of meal prepping! I’m a great fan of meal prepping. It definitely saves tons of time and is a great way to always eat healthy home-cooked meals!

For me, meal planning dinners is my favourite. Not only does it save me time in the evenings but I am amazed a how much money I save by not making dinner on the spot every day! Glad you found it useful.

I have always seen meal prepping as a time saver and a way of avoiding impulse eating. Your post has shed more light for me and I will take meal prepping more serious as soon as I am able to. We all need to save on the spending 😉 Thanks for sharing.

Decision fatigue! I totally get that (I just didn’t know what it was called before.) I mostly meal plan for the variety and to save stress. I can totally agree with your other reasons too. Thank you so much for linking up with The Meal Planning Linky.

Back in the 90s when I was on a really tight budget, I used to really enjoy a good long prepping and batch cooking evening with my son once a month or so. IT was a great time to really spend time together chatting and filling the freezer with things like spag bol, cottage pie etc. He is all grown up and left home now, so prepping and batch cooking brings back happy memories for me these days

The one constant thing in our life is change. We cannot avoid it and the more we resist change the tougher our life becomes. Trust me, I know this because I was very skilled at deflecting change in my life. We are surrounded by change and it is the one thing that has the most dramatic impact on our lives. Change has the ability to catch up with you at some point in your life. There is no avoiding it because it will find you, challenge you, and force you to reconsider how you live your life.

Hey guys and gals!

Hi, we're Jo and Leisa, twin sisters and authors of Joleisa.com. Originally from the sandy beaches of Jamaica we now reside in England where we followed our calling to teach. But sometimes that call changes and our new passion is writing. We're here to give the ups and downs of it all with our lifestyle tips and tricks to help you avoid the sour lemons that can get in our way of frugal budgeting, intentional living and happiness. Join us and learn more about how we found the simplest ways to achieve easy living. Read More…